Izabelle 2-months (March 25, 2013)

Izabelle is 10 weeks old already.  She is growing fast now and is 11 pounds!  She spends her day with Gramm Fackler.  She is starting to sleep a little better and some nights only gets up one time.  Jake spent the past month in South Korea on a training exercise.  He returned to Okinawa this past weekend.  He is starting the process of packing and preparing to return to the US in June.  I went back to work February 28 when Izzy was 7 weeks old.  The toughest part of my return was the lack of sleep with a newborn and of course being away from her all day.  There are many nights that I go to bed shortly after her 8pm bedtime!  We have exciting news to share - we are purchasing a home in Mechanicsburg.  We plan to move in June when Jake returns (I need his muscles to help move everything!).  Our home in Harrisburg went on the market today and we are saying prayers that it sells quickly.

Until next time,
Natasha and Jake

Izabelle Month One (February 14, 2013)

It's hard to believe that Izabelle is 5 weeks old today.  Her original due date was February 3rd.  Jake safely returned to Japan last week after spending 25 days at home with us.  He will be in Japan until June. Jake is an awesome daddy and was a huge help to us while he was home.  Izabelle and I are starting to adjust to our new routine without him here (Mommy is more tired and the house is less clean!)  I return to work in two weeks and Izzy will be spending the day with her grandma Fackler .  Below are some pictures we would like to share with you.  The first few were done professionally when she was about 3 weeks old and the other ones we wanted to wish you a very Happy Valentine's Day.

Love,
Natasha, Jake and Izabelle

Introducing Izabelle Jane Fackler (Jan 10, 2013)

Most of you have heard the news by now but we wanted to post an official message up for everyone to announce that baby Izabelle Jane Fackler was born on 10 Jan 2013 at 2:35 pm, weighing 6 lbs 6 oz and 18 ½” at Holy Spirit Hospital.  Mom and baby are both healthy and daddy is home from Japan.  Izabelle arrived three and a half weeks early from her due date which was originally 03 Feb.  She has been making her rounds and getting lots of attention and love from family and friends. 

In the early morning of 10 Jan Natasha woke up and realized that her water had broken.  After contacting her doctor and throwing together her bag she called Jake in Japan who is 14 hours ahead.  Jake began to make arrangements to take leave and fly home.  After this Natasha drove to the hospital and was admitted.   During this time she was not experiencing contractions but she knew that the baby was on its way.  Her good friends Eileen and Jen met her there to provide support during labor and delivery.

Throughout the morning Natasha continued to progress and contractions began.  Jake kept calling every hour to stay up to date on how things were going.  Natasha, her friends, and the hospital staff tried to get a laptop with SKYPE to work so that Jake could SKYPE in for the birth but none of them would work.  Thankfully though Jake was able to call in and be on speaker phone.  Natasha’s labor went quickly.  Over the phone along with Jen and Eileen, Jake encouraged Natasha as she delivered Izabelle only ten hours after Natasha’s water had broken.  We had waited to find out the gender of the baby until birth so it was a true surprise to find out we had a little girl. 

The next day Jake hopped on a plane and flew 20 plus hours home, while Natasha and Izabelle were visited by many friends and family in the hospital.  Once the news spread that we had a girl, Izabelle received lots of cute, girly outfits.  Jake arrived late Friday night a little after midnight and was able to hold his baby girl for the first time.

Early on Izabelle had difficulty feeding and had jaundice which made her very tired and uninterested in eating.  We found out at a follow up doctor’s appointment that she had lost too much weight (1 1/2 lbs) and was down to 5.1 pounds.  After a few days of testing and Natasha and Jake working to nurse Izabelle back to a healthy weight her jaundice went down and she gained weight.  We are thankful that she is gaining weight and that her jaundice has gone away. 

                

Izabelle is a very content baby.  She likes to snuggle in her big soft blankets (and with Daddy) and to be clean.  She sleeps a lot in between meals.  Currently her days and nights are a little mixed up (she must be on Daddy’s world clock in Japan) as she is more awake at night.  Natasha has been trying to catch up sleep as the constant feedings are tiring.  We have started to develop a rough routine and process for everyone.  Izabelle hasn’t worn the same outfit twice since she has been home from the hospital as she now has a very large wardrobe thanks to all her relatives and friends, especially her Grandparents. For those of you wondering, she looks just like her daddy and the Shannon/Fackler family.  The last photo attached to this message is Jake's hospital photo.  Can you see the resemblance? 

               

Jake will be home until 06 Feb and then will have to return back to Okinawa.  He will be home again for good in June.  Natasha will return to work at the beginning of March.  We have enjoyed all of our visitors over the past two weeks.   We are thankful for all the support, prayers, gifts, and food everyone has offered us.  We are most thankful for a beautiful and healthy baby girl.   Please feel free to visit us anytime.  

Until next time,

Jake, Natasha and Izzy